The Brøken (2008)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Face your fears.

Plot:

On a busy street in London, Gina, a successful radiologist, thinks she sees herself drive past in her own car...

Plot Keywords:

Nightmare | Mystery Woman | London | Nude Woman Murdered | Memory Loss

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lena Headey	...	Gina McVey
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Dr. Robert Zachman
Melvil Poupaud	...	Stefan Chambers
Michelle Duncan	...	Kate Coleman
Asier Newman	...	Daniel McVey
Richard Jenkins	...	John McVey
Daren Elliott Holmes	...	Simon the Garage Manager
Howard Ward	...	Jim
Damian O'Hare	...	Anthony
Dennis Banks	...	Doorman
In-Sook Chappell	...	Crash Nurse
Peta Longstaff	...	A&E Team
Ziad Alyan	...	A&E Team
Lucy Bingham	...	A&E Team
Marie Flood	...	A&E Team

Also Known As:

The Broken (France) (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:PG-12 | USA:R | France:U (with warning) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Bayswater, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

The inventive spelling of the title reads somewhat silly in Norwegian and Danish since the Ø in broken is a letter in the alphabet in these languages and sounds like the "u" in "burden". In addition "brøken" is a Norwegian word meaning "the fraction".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning of the movie, when she is examining X-rays, she shows her assistant a case of Situs Inversus. This refers to people who are born with one or more organs reversed in position. She states that the condition is very rare, occurring only once in every 1000 births. In truth, Situs Inversus occurs once in every 10,000 births.

Quotes:

[Dr. Zachman is questioning Gina about her boyfriend, Stephan]
Dr. Robert Zachman: And you live together?
[Gina slightly shakes her head as if she's disturbed and unsettled by the question]
Dr. Robert Zachman: What are you holding back, Gina? Tell me what's wrong.
Gina McVey: I don't think Stephan is my boyfriend.
Dr. Robert Zachman: Well, we all have different relationships until we find the one.
Gina McVey: No, he looks like him, but he's not him.
Dr. Robert Zachman: Right. When did you first notice this change? After the accident? Do you think then, that maybe he really is Stephan and that you're just still confused about the events surrounding the crash?
Gina McVey: Dr. Zachman...
Dr. Robert Zachman: Robert, please.
[...]

The Broken is a fantastic existential horror film for fans of Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Lynch not for slasher gore hounds

Imagine if Kubrick, Hitchcock, and Lynch all worked together to make an existential and truly scary film mixing elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and sixth sense made mostly for adults, where the plot is a pure ruse or mcguffin to examine the dark side of humanity.

This film wowed me, this is not your average EXCITING FAST PACED new age horror film, this is a classic horror film that uses atmosphere and theme to frighten us not just superficially but to our own personal core. The use of haunting and beautiful imagery and sound design with a quietly creepy slow boiling pace equates to one of the most truly scary films I have seen in years. This is for fans of The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, Psycho, The seventies Invasion of The Body Snatchers, and Edgar Allen Poe. In fact, I saw the screening on Poe's Birthday, which the director announced, made our screening so special. In fact, it opens up with a brilliant quote by Edgar Allen Poe, which explains the theme and ideology behind the film completely.

The plot follows a woman who sees a mirror image of her self, driving her car, which leads to her following the woman to her apartment then a car accident. This leads her on a mentally challenging feat to retrace her memory and piece together what happened during and before the wreck. Her boyfriend no longer seems like her boyfriend, she has frightening nightmares that include some deeply disturbing and creepy imagery that chilled me to the bone. The violence is minimal; the couple of scenes that are bloody are disturbing as hell, including a great kill scene with a wink to Psycho.

So, before you go to this film realize you need to open your mind up, be ready to think, and feel in order to be terrorized by this film. This is not a simple man's horror film. You need to be patient and allow yourself to be wrapped into the films pace, I will warn you again, this is not a FAST PACED horror film, and that is what makes it so wonderful, Ellis uses his camera to paint beautiful yet quiet and haunting images to creep under your skin and fill your nightmares.